Rupert Murdoch Attends Royal Dinner With Trump Amid $20B Lawsuit

When President Donald Trump attended the grand finale of his state visit at Windsor Castle Wednesday night, one of the guests across the lavishly decorated table was none other than Rupert Murdoch, the man he is currently suing.

Murdoch, the powerful owner of the Wall Street Journal, is facing a $20 billion lawsuit from Trump after the paper published a story about a suggestive birthday letter tied to Jeffrey Epstein that allegedly bore Trump’s name. Trump has denied signing it and said he warned Murdoch beforehand not to publish the story.

Despite the ongoing legal battle, Murdoch and his wife Elena were seated among the 160 elite guests inside St. George’s Hall. The Royal Family and the White House curated the guest list, which also included high-profile business leaders like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Nvidia CEO Jensuen Huang, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan.

Trump was seated between King Charles III and Catherine, Princess of Wales, while First Lady Melania Trump sat across the table with Queen Camilla and Prince William. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sat next to Queen Camilla, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended with his wife.

Notably absent was former British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson, recently dismissed after his connections to Jeffrey Epstein surfaced.

The dinner itself was a lavish display of royal tradition. Over 100 staff members prepared and served the multi-course meal, which included panna cotta de cresson with parmesan shortbread, organic Norfolk chicken ballotine wrapped in courgettes, and a vanilla ice cream bombe with Kentish raspberry sorbet. The ornate table was lined with flowers, 130 candles, and a full setting of glassware and silverware at each place.

While tensions linger between Trump and Murdoch over the lawsuit, their presence at the same table underscores the complexity of statecraft, where personal disputes often intersect with diplomacy and international relations.

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